OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI companies are looking to hire this ‘rare’ kind of software engineers

OpenAI, Anthropic, and other artificial intelligence (AI) companies are actively hiring a specialised type of software developer known as a forward-deployed engineer (FDE). These engineers are rare because they possess the dual skills of coding and direct customer communication. The recruitment drive is part of a strategy to increase revenue by embedding these specialists within client businesses. FDEs help customers customise and integrate the AI companies’ advanced models. Demand for these customer-facing AI roles has increased significantly in 2025.

According to a Financial Times report, data from the jobs platform Indeed shows that monthly job listings for FDEs increased by more than 800% between January and September this year.